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Sunday, April 3, 2011

Week 1 Comment to Kathy Toth



Kathy Toth says:





Early in the EMDT program, we had the fear of copyright law instilled in us.  Now we are being encouraged to bend that law, if not out and out break it, for the sake of literacy and cultural progress.
My question is:  Who owns the rights to the video above?  I took the video (not a great video, I admit.  I wasn’t planning to until I remembered I could capture the moment on my iphone.)  There was no announcement before the performance, like I remember before Bob Dylan started playing, that the use of video equipment was prohibited.  But I did not write the song and I did not perform the song.  Do I need permission?  Can the songwriter sue me for using this video here on my blog?  The songwriter posted one of my videos on his facebook page.  We never talked about permission.  Can I sue him?
Common sense shows us the absurdity of the situation.  How would it benefit either one of us to try to maintain control over a three minute piece of video that should be freely shared with anyone interested in viewing it.
Imagine if early oral storytellers wielded the power of copyright we may never have had the tradition of stories passed on orally throughout the generations.  Our culture is richer when we share.

My Comment:

Kathy,

I do agree with you about our culture being richer when we can share information readily and easily. However, I do think we need to look at the viewpoint of the artist. With so many struggling artist out there, how will they make a living if they are not compensated for their work? If anyone can use their work and profit from it, will they be able to continue exploring their creativity?  It's such a touchy subject with little or no black or white answers.

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